Reach Out Response Network

Reach Out Response Network

Formation	2020
Headquarters	Toronto
Co-founders	Asante Haughton, Rachel Bromberg
Website	https://reachouttoronto.ca/

Reach Out Response Network is a Toronto based organization that advocates for the City of Toronto to increase community-led responses to mental health emergencies.

Organization

Reach Out Response Network is a community-led Toronto-based organization that was founded by Rachel Bromberg and Asante Haughton in 2020.[1][2] It was based on the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets[3] program run by the Eugene Police Department[4] with a strong focus on advocacy work.[5]

Activities

In July 2020, co-founders Haughton and Bromberg published an op-ed in the Toronto Star promoting the organization.[6] This created an influx of volunteers and a connection to Mohamed Shuriye, the City of Toronto's new manager of policing reform.[6]

In 2020, they submitted a 92-page report of recommendations to the City of Toronto.[7]

Their 2021 publication Report on International Crisis Response Team Training documented alternatives to police response to mental-health-related emergencies.[8] Later in 2021, the group welcomed the City of Toronto's decision to pilot community-led responses to 911 calls about mental health crises.[9]

See also

• Doctors for Defunding the Police

References

1. Adler, Mike (2022-02-17). "'The way to go forward': Scarborough's Taibu starts responding next month to people in crisis". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
2. Gillis, Wendy (2020-08-03). "These mental health advocates are working on an alternative to police intervention when someone is in crisis". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
3. Kivanç, Jake (10 Feb 2021). "North American Cities Are Replacing Cops With Civilians And It's Working". Vice.
4. Alvarez, Natalie (2020). "Stop. Rewind. Replay.: Performance, police training and mental health crisis response". Performance Research. 25 (8): 69–75. doi:10.1080/13528165.2020.1930783. S2CID 237366294.
5. Bromberg, Rachel. "The pandemic, protests, and social innovation: How can we maintain our progress?." Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being 6.3 (2021): 95-96.
6. "Blurring the Blue Line | University of Toronto Magazine". University of Toronto Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
7. Charlie Buckley (7 Sep 2021). "Toronto rethinks mental health policing amid calls for reform". Canada's National Observer.
8. Disability Injustice: Confronting Criminalization in Canada. (2022). (n.p.): UBC Press. p161
9. "City of Toronto staff recommend 3-year mental health crisis response service pilot program - Toronto | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-03-28.

External links

• Official website
• 2021 report: Report on International Crisis Response Team Training
• 2020 Toronto Star Op-Ed